MAC BRADY ASSOCIATES, INC.
WHY ROOF MANAGEMENT?
Roof management should be proactive. Acting to anticipate the future roofing needs or changes will ultimately minimize life cycle costs while ensuring the on-going protection of the building. This program is multi-faceted and includes the essential information for maintaining and repairing roofs to extend the useful life and for ultimately prioritizing and optimizing expenditures of limited capital when roof replacements appear to be necessary. Limiting capital expenditures requires that not only each roofing system reaches its maturity, but ideally the service life is extended beyond maturity. The goal of maximizing the roof system's service life can be enhanced when the following occur:
• Built-in maintenance concerns are designed into each new roof system
• Quality installation is performed.
• Maintenance responsibilities are accepted and diligently completed
• Rapid response to small system repairs is available
A comprehensive roof management program helps to ensure that:
• Costly roof replacements are deferred
• Financial planning and forecasting is improved
• Potential problems are managed proactively rather than reactively
• The buildings and contents are better protected
WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR ROOF MANAGEMENT?
A successful roof management program requires teamwork between the Facility Engineer, Roofing Consultant, Manager of Maintenance, Roofing Manufacturer, and Approved Applicator (Contractor). The approach taken to roof management needs to be proactive rather than reactive. It is imperative that each team member accepts his or her responsibility and clearly communicates to other team members any roofing needs identified to expedite response time. Not only is communication important, but education and experience are vital as well for the team members. Educational certifications are key to ensuring there is a standard of quality and knowledge in roofing.
Facility Engineer
The Facility Engineer must accept responsibility for accurate, up-to-date information on the roof system that is supportive of the Roofing Consultant's annual inspection and Approved Applicator's subsequent maintenance responsibilities. The Facility Engineer must be in constant contact with maintenance personnel and supervisors of the plant to ensure that he/she is notified of any leaks or noticeable damage suffered by any severe storms (i.e. hail, tornado, etc.). After discovering any problems, the Facility Engineer should contact the Roofing Consultant. Immediate financial support of maintenance requests is imperative to the success of a proactive roof management program. Equally important, the Facility Engineer must accept the responsibility of maintaining a roof history of maintenance actions. Documentation of roof maintenance supports efforts to track repair costs, performance of roof systems and validate warranty claims against the manufacturer or applicator. Finally the Facility Engineer must invoke and enforce access restrictions to the roof areas and keep logs of all personnel and activities performed on the roof (i.e. washing by-products off of roof). The Facility Engineer must acquire continuing educational credits through independent roofing institutions (i.e. Roofing Industry Educational Institute), to ensure that he/she stays abreast of roofing issues.
Manager of Maintenance
The Manager of Maintenance must coordinate with the Facility Engineer regarding structural and manufacturing process implications of any effects are a result of roof repair and replacement work scheduled. The Manager of Maintenance should notify the Facility Engineer of any proposed changes that could affect the roof (i.e. additional A/C units, support bolts, etc.). This communication and relationship with the Property Manager is to ensure minimal negative consequences are experienced due to related work.
Roofing Consultant
Roof Surveyor
The Roof Surveyor must accept inspection responsibilities and provide information as to which distresses should be covered under the manufacturer's and contractor's warranty (if one exists) and then promptly notifies the Manufacturer and/or Approved Applicator of the warranted conditions for corrective action. Proactively inspecting a roof will identify conditions and allow the Facility Engineer to take corrective measures before the condition results in a system failure. Equally, frequent inspections lead to the likelihood of identifying a minor system failure before it becomes a major, more costly failure. The information supplied by the Roof Surveyor empowers the Property Manager, through notification of the appropriate Roofing Manufacturer, to make temporary emergency repairs when necessary. The Roofing Surveyor must be active in ongoing roofing education and experience through independent roofing institutions, as well as, to attend manufacturer's seminars to ensure that he/she stays knowledgeable in all types of roofing systems.
Roofing Specifier/Administrator
Roofing Specifier must understand why a previous system was successful or why it failed so that changes are not unsuccessfully made to a successful system, or in the better case, so that design problems can be replaced with solutions. The Roofing Specifier handles Construction Management tasks. Via Bidding Administration the Specifier: prepares repair and replacement specifications; coordinates and processes bidding documents; conducts Pre-Bid Meetings; analyses bid quotes, etc. Through Contract Administration the Specifier: Coordinates and processes contract documents (change orders, applications for payment, warranties,); conducts Progress and Close-Out Meetings; etc. With Quality Assurance services, the Specifier: provides a Quality Assurance Observer, prepares final Quality Assurance Reports that are submitted to the Facility Engineer and Roofing Manufacturer, etc. The Roofing Specifier must be a Registered Roof Consultant and Certified Specification Writer (certified through the Roof Consultants Institute and Construction Specifications Institute, respectively). The Roofing Administrator must have a minimum certification level as a Certified Document Technician (certified through the Construction Specifications Institute).
Quality Assurance Observer
Quality Assurance is of the utmost importance for a reroofing project. Quality Assurance Observation documents the installation of the roofing system and materials used to assure that the roofing system is installed exactly as specified. A roof that is applied correctly will meet its service life and be easier to maintain by the roof management team. The Quality Assurance Observer must be a minimum Level I Quality Assurance Observer (certified through the Roofing Industry Educational Institute).
Roofing Manufacturer
The Roofing Manufacturer reviews the project manual prepared by the Design Specifier and communicates with the Approved Applicator on the project requirements. These two steps are necessary to promote proper details and system requirements are met in order to issue the specified warranty. After the roof is installed and being notified of any warranty issues, the Roofing Manufacturer must act promptly to inspect warranty distresses and/or issue a purchase order to an approved contractor to perform all warranty repairs. The Roofing Manufacturer's materials must have the proper Underwriter's Laboratories and Factory Mutual approvals to ensure that the appropriate testing procedures have been performed and results published.
Approved Applicator (Contractor)
An Approved Applicator, also referred to as the Contractor, performs all warranty and maintenance repairs to the roof system. The Approved Applicator is to be certified (by the Roofing Manufacturer of the roof in question) to perform repairs and has the responsibility of being educated in the Roofing Manufacturer's roof procedures, limitations, and requirements. If a contractor warranty exists, then the Contractor that holds the warranty is the preferred entity to perform repairs. The Approved Applicator should be the only contractor to perform warranty and non-warranty repairs to the same roof. This eliminates questions of who to go to if there is an ineffective or improper repair. During roof replacement projects, the Approved Applicator must provide a competent foreman, safety officer, environmental officer, and Quality Control Inspector. The Approved Applicator must show evidence of continuous approved applicator status with the Roofing Manufacturer for a minimum period of five years prior to and repair or replacement project. Also, it is important that a list of projects of similar scope and complexity be submitted prior to any roof replacement project.
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